Table Of ContentMovemenfot rL ife
Anat Baniel
(c) Copyright 1994 by Anat Baniel
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction
in whole or in part in any form without prior written
permission from the publisher.
Published by NovaMotion, LP
3105 MacArthur, Northbrook IL 60062
ISBN 1-886616-00-0
Printed in the United States of America
To my beloved teacher,D r. Moshe
Feldenkrais, with my deepest gratitude.
Acknowledgments
Sharon Trotter's vision, courage and trust in both the Feldenkrais®
Method and in me made this book and this project possible. Thank you,
Sharon.
I want to thank my students, from the very young babies to the very
old men and women, as well as everyone in between, who put their trust in
me and taught me what is possible.
My gratitude also goes to my father, Dr. Avraham Baniel, who read
through the text in its early stages. He patiently lent me his brilliant scientific
mind and knowledge, helping me in the process of writing this book.
I want to thank my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Eilat Almagor, on
whose friendship, wisdom, and knowledge I could always count. I want to
thank Dr. Walter Witryol for encouraging me to write a book for over a
decade and for always being helpful and generous with his knowledge. To
Larry, thank you for your wisdom, kindness, and guidance.
Thank you Michael Pearce, Randy Peck, and Whitney Pearce for
patiently walking the creative path with me. I felt great relief and hope when
Robin Parks and Geoff Harmon stepped in. Thank you both for your swift
and solid guidance and support and also for being such good editors. I want
to thank Sheila Lane for the many hours she spent typing and retyping, and
for her constantly expressed interest and delight with the text.
I want to thank my mother, Malka Baniel; it was always obvious to
her that I should and could write this book. Marcy Lindheimer, thank you for
being such a good friend, for pitching in useful ideas, and for providing such
marvelous emotional support.
Last, but not least, I want to express my love and thanks to Sacha,
my child, for being an inspiration as to what is possible! Thank you, also, for
being so patient with Mommy during the final weeks of this project.
-A.B.
Tableo f Contents
Introducti.o..n.. ......................................................1.. ..........
Chapte1r: M ovemenist Life. ......................................5.. ....
Learning and Movement; The Pleasure Principle in Movement; Aging and
Movement; Characteristics of Good Movement; Movement is Life
Chapte2r: Braina ndI nformati.o..n.. ..........................2..3.. .
The Brain; The Organization of Movement; Creating Order in Disorder; The Quality
of Organization in Movement
Chapte3r: Minda ndB ody. .......................................3..3.. ..
Introduction; Body Image
Chapte4r: T heP owero f Imaginatioinn M ovemen..t.. ...4 5
Introduction; Why Is it Easier to Lift an Arm Than to Imagine Lifting an Arm?;
Imagining Takes Learning and Practice
Chapte5r: Feelinga ndM ovemen..t. ...........................5..3..
Introduction; The Ability to Feel and Its Relationship to Movement
Chapte6r: Chang.e.. ...............................................6..1.. .....
Introduction; Habits; Change; Know Thyself
Chapte7r: Growtahn dM ovemen...t. .........................7..1.. .
Introduction; Using Gentleness Instead of Violence; Internal Wisdom and Freedom
of Choice
Chapte8r: T heA chievemePnrt ocesasn dM oveme.n..t. .8 3
Introduction; The Learning Process
Chapte9r: P aina ndM ovemen..t.. .............................9..1.. ..
Introduction; The "No Pain, No Gain" Myth; What Do I Do If I Feel Pain?
Chapte1r0 :W haits Possible.?.. ...............................9..7.. ...
Limitations; What is Possible
Chapte1r1 :E xercis.e.. ..........................................1..0..5.. ...
Introduction; Mindless Exercise -Mindful Movement; Fitness; Posture
Chapte1r2 :H ealthan dW ellnes..s. ...........................1..1..9.
Introduction; The Flat Stomach Myth; Beauty and Brains
Chapte1r3 :I t's EasieTr hanY ouT hink.. ...................1..2. 9
Introduction; Aging With Movement; If It's So Easy, Why Does it Work So Well?
Conclusio..n.. .....................................................1..3..7.. ......
Introduction
*
Theories, ideas, thoughts and beliefs become meaningful to us
through personal, subjective experiences. That is what happened to me.
I was only 4 years old when Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais entered my life. Dr.
Feldenkrais was working as a physicist at that time and was looking for a
place to teach his newly discovered movement approach; he was also looking
for people to instruct. Dr. Feldenkrais was introduced to my father, a scientist
who was very interested in Dr. Feldenkrais' teachings. As a result, Dr.
Feldenkrais began using my parents' living-room as the site of his movement
instruction. I watched these lessons and wondered about the movements I
saw.
At the age of 7 I began taking ballet lessons. Within a few months
my posture deteriorated severely. I quit that class and began studying with
another ballet instructor, herself a student of Dr. Feldenkrais. Once a week
she taught the class one of Dr. Feldenkrais ' lessons, which we children called
"the lessons on the floor." The impact that these lessons had on me was
enormous. At the end of each lesson I found myself feeling better than
before. At the young age of 8 I was learning how I might use my awareness
to alter and improve my movements and general well-being. Because of
these lessons I found that my movements in gymnastics class had improved
and I found that I could do movements I had never been able to do before.
My posture also improved.
When I turned 11, my family moved; my studies with my dance
instructor ended and so did "the lessons on the floor." At 17 I severely
injured a hip joint during gymnastics class. At 18, I sustained a spinal injury
Introduction 1
that forced the doctors to operate on my lower spine. From that moment
forward, I suffered from recurring back pain as well as a sciatic pain in my
leg, and acute, reoccurring headaches. I was told that my leg would be
paralyzed by the time I was 40.
Despite all this, I continued to be very active. I kept up my dance
training, but my leg and pelvis movements became very asymmetrical. That,
coupled with the pain, stunted my progress and made my life very
uncomfortable a lot of the time. Nothing I tried helped to improve my
situation.
While studying to become a clinical psychologist, an inner voice, a
desire, began to emerge. I came to realize I wanted to work with people
through movement and directly with their bodies. It took two more years
before I remembered "the lessons on the floor." I immediately went looking
for Dr. Feldenkrais and found him in his studio, in Tel Aviv. I began taking
lessons with him. After the first five lessons my headaches were gone. I felt
an immediate change for the better in my entire internal experience. Dr.
Feldenkrais allowed me to observe his work with other students and with
them I saw similar transformations occur. Again and again this was the case.
I decided to join his training program and within a few weeks found
that I could perform dance movements I had never been able to do, despite
my years of training. My lower back and leg pains disappeared; the peculiar
twist of my pelvis was also gone. I experienced not only an improvement in
my movement abilities but also an emotional and mental improvement that
my years of dance training and schooling had not been able to provide me
with. My way of thinking and feeling was changing; I was becoming a freer
and stronger person. From that moment forward I have continued to grow
and to experience ever increasing possibilities: This has become a way of
life.
2 Introduction
